"It makes me ill to think that all my years of hard work and gathering tools meant so little to someone else that they would scrap my livelihood for $700,'' said Daniel Speer, who had his 1991 Ford van stolen from near his home. It was towed and crushed at West Coast Car Crushing. It contained about $3,000 worth of tools. Full story »

Ashley Benson lost custody of her son last year, partly because of a judge's concerns about her risky behavior as an escort, court testimony shows. The judge found it was in the child's best interest to live with his father. The boy is now 6. Full story »

Court records reveal Ashley Benson was working as an escort and had met Tae Bum Yoon at the hotel for paid sex on Christmas. It wasn't the first time they had met, and evidence suggests they had some type of disagreement over money owed, the records indicate. Full story »

Jessica Smith's lawyers: "We do not request a trial date in the summer of 2016 as a 'luxury' or the 'convenience of the lawyers,' but rather for the time necessary to provide Ms. Smith with the effective assistance of counsel and a constitutionally adequate defense.'' Full story »

Abdalah Mohamed, 19, is accused of threatening to blow up Ira's Deli at 7215 N.E. Prescott St. ''in the name of Allah,'' and making disparaging remarks about Jews and Israel in July, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Full story »

The settlement was reached just months after outside consultants urged the Portland police to tighten its policy on use of police dogs and restrict their use to stop suspects wanted on felonies. Full story »

Michael Newcomb is one of four men indicted in connection with the Feb. 12, 2013 shooting near Southeast 85th Avenue and Powell Boulevard that left a 54-year-old man in the street suffering from serious gunshot wounds, police said. Full story »

"My mom told me you can do anything that you put your mind to,'' said new Portland police Chief Larry O'Dea, standing before a standing-room only crowd in the second-floor auditorium of The Portland Building. "Those words matter.'' Full story »